Torii Hunter retires from baseball

Even though the Minnesota Twins wanted him to come back for the 2016 season, Torii Hunter announced his retirement on Monday.

The 40-year-old spent 19 seasons in the majors.

“I’m sad because it’s all I’ve known for half of my life,” Hunter said. “This great game of baseball has done so much for me. I have learned a lot of lessons. They say baseball is life and life is baseball, and I used baseball and applied it to my life. So I got through a lot of hardships and a lot of hard times and I learned from them and I made adjustments, which you have to do in the game of baseball as well as the game of life. So baseball taught me a lot. But mentally, I think it’s time. I still love the game, but time has taken a toll on me mentally and physically.”

Known for his nine Gold Gloves as much as his bat he ends his career with a .277/.331/.471 line with 353 home runs, 1,391 RBI and 195 stolen bases. He appeared on five All-Star teams.